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Olivia knew it was pointless to fight it and that she just had to let it be.
It may be annoying and it may be driving her crazy, but unfortunately, she was the one who had agreed to cohabitating with three boys.
And yes, she meant boys.
Even though technically only one was a boy, one was a teenager, and one was a grown man.
But judging by the state of their now shared living room, no one would think that was the case.
“What in the hell went on in here?” She wasn’t one to cuss, but this was ridiculous.
There were empty soda bottles and cans all over the tables, food wrappers and take out containers on the floor.
The pillows from the couch were all shoved into one chair and the couch cushions were all askew.
Not to mention that before her were four very surprised looking men, three of whom currently lived here and one who did not.
“We’re playing video games.” Noah held his controller up and mumbled the words out around what she could only assume was a piece of candy.
“I can see that.” She knew that Elliot knew better than to have anything violent on when the boys were around, so she was not the least bit shocked when she poked her head around the corner and saw Mario Kart on the TV. “How long have you been like this?”
But no one answered, not a single one, and she huffed, moving her body in front of the TV and crossing her arms over her chest.
A chorus of sighs and groans could be heard from around the room, even from her fiancé and she simply rolled her eyes as she stared at the four of them.
“I was gone for three hours, three.” And she had even cut her outing short because to be honest, she would have much rather been at home with them. “How did you manage to destroy the living room and eat that much food in three hours?”
She counted enough take out containers for at least 10 people, not to mention the bags of chips and candy everywhere.
Again, no one answered her, all four of them just staring back at her blankly.
She didn’t know if it was because they were scared or in shock, but either way, she didn’t like being ignored.
So she did the only logical thing she could think of.
She turned around and promptly turned the gaming system off, eliciting even more moans and groans from behind her.
“You,” She pointed a finger at Elliot as she set her eyes in a glare, “kitchen, now. And you three, clean this mess up.”
Noah shifted his gaze between Elli and Richard before promptly jumping up and beginning the process of cleaning, the older two boys following suit when they noticed she wasn’t budging.
Once she made sure that they were actually going to clean up, she marched herself into the kitchen, stopping in front of Elliot as she eyed him up and down.
“What in the world happened in there?” She wasn’t exactly mad, because that would just be silly, but she really didn’t understand how this had happened in so little time.
“We got a little carried away.” He shrugged his shoulders with a sheepish smile. “Eli and Noah were playing and they talked me into joining.”
“And how did Richard wind up here?” She loved all of Elliot’s children like they were her own, but she and Richard were like oil and water, even after all this time.
“He called and asked if Eli and I wanted to have dinner with him. I told him that we would have Noah with us and that he could swing by and we could all go together.” Well that was something, at least. “When he got here he realized what the boys were playing and then it was just a lost cause.”
“He willingly came here?” Because that was a first, hell, the man hadn’t even wanted to help them move in together six months ago.
“He did.” The smile on Elliot’s face told her all she needed to know. “Are we gonna fight about this?”
“No.” Hell, if it meant that Richard would actually come around, she’d let them throw as many Mario Kart parties as they wanted. “But just, next time, try to clean up as you go, please.”
“I will.” He stepped forward then and cupped her face between his hands. “I promise.”
The kiss he placed against her lips was soft, but it held enough to make a shiver run down her spine.
The groans that echoed through the living room behind them was the icing on the cake though.
Even though her boys were disgusted, at least they were disgusted under the same roof for once.